“Don’t feel sorry for us. We enjoy this. It is hard, but it’s not something we can do for the rest of our lives,” she said.

What hurts, she said, is her daughter, whose husband drove them here, hasn’t come by.

“It was really hard. We tried,” Marilyn said, referring to attempting to live with her daughter. “It was mutual. It really was a tiny house.”

Pastor Steve Brigham, who lives in a school bus, said the number of homeless here has grown by 20 since last year.

“At this point and time this is my calling — to take care of the homeless of Ocean County,” Brigham said.

For Michael Berenzweig, who once worked as a radio producer, Sunday may be the last time he plays the piano in tent city’s chapel. On Monday, the City of Lakewood wants the wooden structure and 14 others taken down.

Many wonder how they’ll manage this winter.

The City of Lakewood is ordering the wooden frames down as part of a lawsuit. City officials were not commenting on Friday.